arXiv subjects

Esko Keski-Vakkuri

Publications and source records attributed to Esko Keski-Vakkuri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Flatness-Preserving Operations

A quantum state is called flat if it is proportional to a projector. There has been recent interest in studying antiflatness, the property of diverging from flat states, and establishing a resource theory for it. Identifying the free operations (the Flatness-Preserving Operations (FPOs)) remained an open problem. For this purpose, we first discuss Orthogonality-Preserving Operations (OPOs), of which trivial examples are unitary operations in an isolated system. More generally, we give a simple proof that all OPOs are isometric embeddings consisting of combinations of unitaries/isometries and appending a fixed state. We then show that all FPOs are either constant maps to some fixed flat state or a special case of an OPO, where the appended fixed state must be a flat state. We also show that the only possible flat convex combinations of flat states are those of orthogonal flat states with weights given by their purities.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Quantum Darwinism and the quality of Petz recovery

According to Quantum Darwinism, system-environment interactions both einselect particular system properties and encode them redundantly in many independent subsets of the environment, called fragments. This redundancy implies that an observer can recover the einselected information by accessing just one such fragment. However, the protocol by which such reconstruction should occur is often left unspecified. Considering a system $Γ$ interacting with a multipartite environment $Ξ$, we investigate whether, and under what conditions, the einselected state of $Γ$ can be recovered from environmental fragments using the Petz recovery map. We show that the fidelity between the system's initial state and the state reconstructed via Petz recovery develops a plateau as a function of the fragment size. Our results are supported by both analytical arguments and numerical simulations of large but tractable models.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Induced Resource Theories and Harvesting via Quantum Probes

We consider scenarios in which a quantum system with a well-defined resource theory is used as a probe to interact with an environment, such as a quantum field, for which a resource-theoretic description is absent or incomplete. We clarify if and how the harvesting of a resource in the probe can tell us about the state of the environment. This is particularly ambiguous when the probe-environment interaction is not a free operation, or the concept of such free operations cannot be defined altogether. We propose a framework and precise conditions under which it becomes possible to interpret resource generation on the probe as evidence of resources in the environment, thereby introducing an effective notion of resources for the latter. Our results clarify in which sense resources can be said to be harvested from the environment and provide a systematic way to analyse such processes beyond fully controlled resource-theoretic settings. More generally, this work may provide a step towards a more general understanding of the interplay of different quantum resources.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Bipartite entanglement harvesting with multiple detectors

We study bipartite entanglement harvesting from the quantum vacuum of a massless scalar field between two subsystems, each composed of a finite number of Unruh-DeWitt detectors. Using perturbation theory, we show that the leading-order negativity is fully determined by a submatrix of the reduced density matrix, with the submatrix dimension scaling only linearly with the number of detectors. Within this framework, we analyze how the detectors' spatial arrangement influences harvesting. For all three-detector configurations and several symmetric four-detector configurations, we derive analytic expressions for the negativity and identify the configurations that maximize it. For a linear chain, we find that the harvested entanglement scales linearly with the number of detectors. These results clarify how to arrange multiple detectors to optimize harvesting and show that increasing their number broadens the ranges of energy gaps and separations over which entanglement can be extracted from the field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Detector-based measurement-induced state updates in AdS/CFT

Conventional understandings of quantum theory hold that measurements change the state of an observed system following the Lüders update rule. Textbooks describe the application of this idea to non-relativistic systems, but extensions to relativistic and gravitating systems encounter subtleties. One consistent approach is via detector-based measurements. We study the effects of such measurements in a CFT with a holographic dual. We work out the boundary space-time regions associated to a Lüders update and how the outcome extends to modifications of the bulk gravity state. We explore information-theoretic consequences of this picture, and relate the information extracted by a measurement to updates of the semiclassical parameters of the bulk state.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Continuous majorization in quantum phase space for Wigner-positive states and proposals for Wigner-negative states

In quantum resource theory, one is often interested in identifying which states serve as the best resources for particular quantum tasks. If a relative comparison between quantum states can be made, this gives rise to a partial order, where states are ordered according to their suitability to act as a resource. In the literature, various different partial orders for a variety of quantum resources have been proposed. In discrete variable systems, vector majorization of Wigner functions in discrete phase space provides a natural partial order between quantum states. In the continuous variable case, a natural counterpart would be continuous majorization of Wigner functions in quantum phase space. Indeed, this concept was recently proposed and explored (mostly restricting to the single-mode case) in Van Herstraeten, Jabbour, Cerf, Quantum 7, 1021 (2023). In this work, we develop the theory of continuous majorization in the general $N$-mode case. In addition, we propose extensions to include states with finite Wigner negativity. For the special case of the convex hull of $N$-mode Gaussian states, we prove a conjecture made by Van Herstraeten, Jabbour and Cerf. We also prove a phase space counterpart of Uhlmann's theorem of majorization.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Optimizing quantum measurements by partitioning multisets of observables

Quantum tomography approaches typically consider a set of observables which we wish to measure, design a measurement scheme which measures each of the observables and then repeats the measurements as many times as necessary. We show that instead of considering only the simple set of observables, one should consider a multiset of the observables taking into account the required repetitions, to minimize the number of measurements. This leads to a graph theoretic multicolouring problem. We show that multiset tomography offers at most quadratic improvement but it is achievable. Furthermore, despite the NP-hard optimal colouring problem, the multiset approach with greedy colouring algorithms already offers asymptotically quadratic improvement in test cases.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Harvesting magic from the vacuum

Magic is the quantum resource allowing a quantum computer to perform operations that cannot be simulated efficiently by classical computation. As such, generating magic in a quantum system is crucial for achieving quantum advantage. This letter shows that magic can be harvested by a three-level Unruh-DeWitt detector (a qutrit) interacting with a quantum field in an initial vacuum state. While the idea of extracting resources from Quantum Field Theories (QFT) was born from the harvesting of entanglement, our result extends the protocol to evolve a qutrit from a non-magical state to a magical one, making it possible to generate magic from QFT.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Repeated measurements on non-replicable systems and their consequences for Unruh-DeWitt detectors

The Born rule describes the probability of obtaining an outcome when measuring an observable of a quantum system. As it can only be tested by measuring many copies of the system under consideration, it does not hold for non-replicable systems. For these systems, we give a procedure to predict the future statistics of measurement outcomes through Repeated Measurements (RM). This is done by extending the validity of quantum mechanics to those systems admitting no replicas; we prove that if the statistics of the results acquired by performing RM on such systems is sufficiently similar to that obtained by the Born rule, the latter can be used effectively. We apply our framework to a repeatedly measured Unruh-DeWitt detector interacting with a massless scalar quantum field, which is an example of a system (detector) interacting with an uncontrollable environment (field) for which using RM is necessary. Analysing what an observer learns from the RM outcomes, we find a regime where history-dependent RM probabilities are close to the Born ones. Consequently, the latter can be used for all practical purposes. Finally, we numerically study inertial and accelerated detectors, showing that an observer can see the Unruh effect via RM.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Detector-based measurements for QFT: two issues and an AQFT proposal

We present and investigate two issues within the measurement scheme for QFT presented by J. Polo-Gómez, L. J. Garay and E. Martín-Martínez in "A detector-based measurement theory for quantum field theory". We point out some discrepancies that arise when the measurement scheme is applied to contextual field states and show that $n$-point function assignments based on local processing regions sometimes lead to inconsistencies. To solve these issues, we modify the measurement scheme to use non-relativistic detectors to induce an update rule for algebraic states in the Haag-Kastler formulation of quantum field theory. In this way, $n$-point functions can be consistently evaluated across any region having a definite causal relation with measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quantum information geometry of driven CFTs

Driven quantum systems exhibit a large variety of interesting and sometimes exotic phenomena. Of particular interest are driven conformal field theories (CFTs) which describe quantum many-body systems at criticality. In this paper, we develop both a spacetime and a quantum information geometry perspective on driven 2d CFTs. We show that for a large class of driving protocols the theories admit an alternative but equivalent formulation in terms of a CFT defined on a spacetime with a time-dependent metric. We prove this equivalence both in the operator formulation as well as in the path integral description of the theory. A complementary quantum information geometric perspective for driven 2d CFTs employs the so-called Bogoliubov-Kubo-Mori (BKM) metric, which is the counterpart of the Fisher metric of classical information theory, and which is obtained from a perturbative expansion of relative entropy. We compute the BKM metric for the universal sector of Virasoro excitations of a thermal state, which captures a large class of driving protocols, and find it to be a useful tool to classify and characterize different types of driving. For Möbius driving by the SL(2,R) subgroup, the BKM metric becomes the hyperbolic metric on the unit disk. We show how the non-trivial dynamics of Floquet driven CFTs is encoded in the BKM geometry via Möbius transformations. This allows us to identify ergodic and non-ergodic regimes in the driving. We also explain how holographic driven CFTs are dual to driven BTZ black holes with evolving horizons. The deformation of the black hole horizon towards and away from the asymptotic boundary provides a holographic understanding of heating and cooling in Floquet CFTs.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Probing RG flows, symmetry resolution and quench dynamics through the capacity of entanglement

We compare the capacity of entanglement with the entanglement entropy by considering various aspects of these quantities for free bosonic and fermionic models in one spatial dimension, both in the continuum and on the lattice. Substantial differences are observed in the subleading terms of these entanglement quantifiers when the subsystem is made by two disjoint intervals, in the massive scalar field and in the fermionic chain. We define $c$-functions based on the capacity of entanglement similar to the one based on the entanglement entropy, showing through a numerical analysis that they display a monotonic behaviour under the renormalisation group flow generated by the mass. The capacity of entanglement and its related quantities are employed to explore the symmetry resolution. The temporal evolutions of the capacity of entanglement and of the corresponding contour function after a global quench are also discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Sequences of resource monotones from modular Hamiltonian polynomials

We introduce two infinite sequences of entanglement monotones, which are constructed from expectation values of polynomials in the modular Hamiltonian. These monotones yield infinite sequences of inequalities that must be satisfied in majorizing state transitions. We demonstrate this for information erasure, deriving an infinite sequence of "Landauer inequalities" for the work cost, bounded by linear combinations of expectation values of powers of the modular Hamiltonian. These inequalities give improved lower bounds for the work cost in finite dimensional systems, and depend on more details of the erased state than just on its entropy and variance of modular Hamiltonian. Similarly one can derive lower bounds for marginal entropy production for a system coupled to an environment. These infinite sequences of entanglement monotones also give rise to relative quantifiers that are monotonic in more general processes, namely those involving so-called $σ$-majorization with respect to a fixed point full rank state $σ$; such quantifiers are called resource monotones. As an application to thermodynamics, one can use them to derive finite-dimension corrections to the Clausius inequality. Finally, in order to gain some intuition for what (if anything) plays the role of majorization in field theory, we compare pairs of states in discretized theories at criticality and study how majorization depends on the size of the bipartition with respect to the size of the entire chain.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum hypothesis testing in many-body systems

One of the key tasks in physics is to perform measurements in order to determine the state of a system. Often, measurements are aimed at determining the values of physical parameters, but one can also ask simpler questions, such as "is the system in state A or state B?". In quantum mechanics, the latter type of measurements can be studied and optimized using the framework of quantum hypothesis testing. In many cases one can explicitly find the optimal measurement in the limit where one has simultaneous access to a large number $n$ of identical copies of the system, and estimate the expected error as $n$ becomes large. Interestingly, error estimates turn out to involve various quantum information theoretic quantities such as relative entropy, thereby giving these quantities operational meaning. In this paper we consider the application of quantum hypothesis testing to quantum many-body systems and quantum field theory. We review some of the necessary background material, and study in some detail the situation where the two states one wants to distinguish are parametrically close. The relevant error estimates involve quantities such as the variance of relative entropy, for which we prove a new inequality. We explore the optimal measurement strategy for spin chains and two-dimensional conformal field theory, focusing on the task of distinguishing reduced density matrices of subsystems. The optimal strategy turns out to be somewhat cumbersome to implement in practice, and we discuss a possible alternative strategy and the corresponding errors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Characterising heavy-tailed networks using q-generalised entropy and q-adjacency kernels

Heavy-tailed networks, which have degree distributions characterised by slower than exponentially bounded tails, are common in many different situations. Some interesting cases, where heavy tails are characterised by inverse powers $λ$ in the range $1<λ<2,$ arise for associative knowledge networks, and semantic and linguistic networks. In these cases, the differences between the networks are often delicate, calling for robust methods to characterise the differences. Here, we introduce a method for comparing networks using a density matrix based on q-generalised adjacency matrix kernels. It is shown that comparison of networks can then be performed using the q-generalised Kullback-Leibler divergence. In addition, the q-generalised divergence can be interpreted as a q-generalised free energy, which enables the thermodynamic-like macroscopic description of the heavy-tailed networks. The viability of the q-generalised adjacency kernels and the thermodynamic-like description in characterisation of complex networks is demonstrated using a simulated set of networks, which are modular and heavy-tailed with a degree distribution of inverse power law in the range $1<λ<2$.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2020

Dynamical Phase Transition from Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Dark Solitons

By holographic duality, we identify a novel dynamical phase transition which results from the temperature dependence of non-equilibrium dynamics of dark solitons in a superfluid.For a non-equilibrium superfluid system with an initial density of dark solitons, there exists a critical temperature $T_d$,above which the system relaxes to equilibrium by producing sound waves, while below which it goes through an intermediate phase with a finite density of vortex-antivortex pairs. In particular, as $T_d$ is approached from below, the density of vortex pairs scales as $(T_d - T)^γ$ with the critical exponent $γ= 1/2$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Aspects of capacity of entanglement

Many quantum information theoretic quantities are similar to and/or inspired by thermodynamic quantities, with entanglement entropy being a well-known example. In this paper, we study a less well-known example, capacity of entanglement, which is the quantum information theoretic counterpart of heat capacity. It can be defined as the second cumulant of the entanglement spectrum and can be loosely thought of as the variance in the entanglement entropy. We review the definition of capacity of entanglement and its relation to various other quantities such as fidelity susceptibility and Fisher information. We then calculate the capacity of entanglement for various quantum systems, conformal and non-conformal quantum field theories in various dimensions, and examine their holographic gravity duals. Resembling the relation between response coefficients and order parameter fluctuations in Landau-Ginzburg theories, the capacity of entanglement in field theory is related to integrated gravity fluctuations in the bulk. We address the question of measurability, in the context of proposals to measure entanglement and Rényi entropies by relating them to $U(1)$ charges fluctuating in and out of a subregion, for systems equivalent to non-interacting fermions. From our analysis, we find universal features in conformal field theories, in particular the area dependence of the capacity of entanglement appears to track that of the entanglement entropy. This relation is seen to be modified under perturbations from conformal invariance. In quenched 1+1 dimensional CFTs, we compute the rate of growth of the capacity of entanglement. The result may be used to refine the interpretation of entanglement spreading being carried by ballistic propagation of entangled quasiparticle pairs created at the quench.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Conformal quantum mechanics and holographic quench

Recently, there has been much interest in holographic computations of two-point non-equilibrium Green functions from AdS-Vaidya backgrounds. In the strongly coupled quantum field theory on the boundary, the dual interpretation of the background is an equilibration process called a holographic quench. The two dimensional AdS-Vaidya spacetime is a special case, dual to conformal quantum mechanics. We study how the quench is incorporated into a Hamiltonian $H + θ(t) ΔH$ and into correlation functions. With the help of recent work on correlation functions in conformal quantum mechanics, we first rederive the known two point functions, and then compute non-equilibrium 3- and 4-point functions. We also compute the 3-point function Witten diagram in the two-dimensional AdS-Vaidya background, and find agreement with the conformal quantum mechanics result.

hep-th↗